Axel Schulz (born 9 November 1968) is a German former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1990 to 1999, and in 2006. He challenged three times for both the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

and

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

heavyweight titles. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 1989 World Championships and silver at the 1989 European Championships, both in the heavyweight division. Schulz first fought for a world championship in 1995, when he challenged George Foreman for his IBF title. Schulz lost a very close

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on whi ...

, but was immediately granted a second opportunity at the title in the same year. With Foreman having vacated the title after refusing a rematch, Schulz faced

Francois Botha Francois "Frans" Botha (born 28 September 1968) is a South African former professional boxer and kickboxer. He competed in boxing from 1990 to 2014, and is perhaps best known for winning the IBF heavyweight title against Axel Schulz in 1995, ...

but this time lost via (a controversial) split decision. However, Botha later failed a drug test, which led to Schulz receiving a third chance at the title. In 1996 he fought

Michael Moorer Michael Lee Moorer (born November 12, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes, having held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1988 t ...

for the vacant IBF title, losing again via split decision. During his career, Schulz also fought Jeremy Williams and former world champions

Henry Akinwande Henry Adetokunboh Akinwande (born 12 October 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 1996 to 1997, as well as the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 1993, and the Euro ...

, James Smith and

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол� ...

Amateur career

From 1982 Schulz boxed for the army sports club Vorwärts in Frankfurt (Oder), later becoming the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

youth champion. From 1986 onward, he was a Stasi informer under the codename "Markus". At the junior European championships in Denmark in 1986, Schulz won the light-heavyweight title, and in 1988, under the tutelage of

Manfred Wolke Manfred Wolke (born 14 January 1943 in Babelsberg, Brandenburg) is a German former welterweight boxer. He was a member of the ''Armeesportsklub Vorwärts Frankfurt an der Oder''. Wolke, representing East Germany, was the Welterweight ...

, he became East German heavyweight champion. In 1989 he won the Chemiepokal in Halle (Saale), the silver medal at European Championships in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and a bronze medal in the world championships in Moscow, where he lost to

Félix Savón Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...

. Amateur record: 78 wins, 20 losses.

Professional career

After reunification, Schulz turned professional. In 1992 he became German heavyweight champion after defeating Bernd Friedrich in Kassel. 1992 and 1993 saw two fights against

for the European championship. The first fight was declared a draw, but in the return match Schulz suffered his first professional defeat.

IBF heavyweight title challenges

On 22 April 1995 Schulz fought George Foreman for the

heavyweight title, losing controversially on points. This was Foreman's first fight since regaining the title from

, and Schulz was viewed at the time as being a weak, unknown opponent. After refusing a rematch, Foreman was stripped of his title and Schulz was given a second opportunity when he fought

for the vacant title on 12 December 1995. Following a split decision verdict in Botha's favour, the result was changed to a no-contest when Botha failed a doping test. A third chance followed for Schulz on 22 June 1996 when he faced

for the still vacant title. Moorer won on points. Several fights against lower quality opposition followed. These included a stoppage victory over Kevin McBride, who eight years later would defeat a badly faded Mike Tyson. Schulz ended his career after suffering a stoppage at the hands of

on 25 September 1999 for the vacant European championship. Schulz had been thoroughly outclassed. In the end, despite lofty expectations after the George Foreman fight, Schulz was unable to win a title at European or world level.

Comeback attempt

Since the end of his career Schulz has worked in television as a summariser. In December 2005 he received an offer to fight again from Carl King, the stepson of the boxing promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

. His comeback fight took place on November 25, 2006, against Brian Minto. He lost the fight in the sixth Round (T.K.O.). He retired with a record with 26-5-1 and one no contest with 11 knockouts. Axel Schulz married in March 2006. He and his wife had their first child, a girl, on 19 August 2006: Paulina Patricia Clara and another girl born in January 2010: Amelina Patricia Hedwig.

Professional boxing record

Television viewership

Germany

Citations

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulz, Axel 1968 births Living people People from Oder-Spree People from Bezirk Frankfurt German male boxers Heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Brandenburg AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists People of the Stasi